The Importance of a Secure Financial System for Credit Unions

The following article is a guest post.

Cyber breach incidents are increasing at alarming rates, which is especially concerning as more and more credit unions rely on technology to conduct their business. Despite this reliance on IT, however, not all of these institutions are investing time and money into educating their members.

Citing data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Credit Union Times reported that 82 percent of survey respondents confessed that they had a shortage of cyber security skills. Meanwhile, 71 percent of respondents claimed that this shortage was the reason behind most of the data breaches that their organizations experienced. Unfortunately, this lack of talent is a problem for several countries across the world, including France, Japan, the U.S., and the U.K., among many others.

The Impact on Credit Unions

This is a huge concern for credit unions, as they are financial organizations that exist to serve their members, all of whom can make an impact in regards to the future of the organization. And credit unions can only continue to exist if they have earned—and kept—the trust of every single member.

A single hole in the organization’s systems could expose the private data of thousands of people, which could cause panicking members to close down their accounts and go elsewhere.

With this in mind, preventive measures have to be put into place before these threats can reach your own credit union, both on an individual and organizational level.

Investing in a Secure Financial Solution

As much as your members may be doing their best in order to keep their data safe and secure, they are still prone to human error. Thus, your first line of defense would be to collectively invest in a secure financial solution like those offered by CO-OP Financial Services.

Not only will your members be able to use their accounts via multiple means such as debit cards and mobile payments, but they will also be able to do so without worrying about their credentials being leaked.

Plus, they can help your own cyber security talent free up their time on tedious tasks so that they can focus on better tightening your credit union’s defenses. The rest of your organization can then focus on improving existing services and perhaps providing even more. Thus, security threats will no longer be in the way of your credit union’s growth.

Educating Your Members on Cyber Security

Even if your members have all of the latest technology in their hands, it will be all for nothing if they just end up willingly handing over the keys to their accounts.

So take the time to update yourself on the latest cyber breaching schemes and make sure to send your members regular reminders on how to keep their data safe. You can even hold a seminar to give them the info they need to identify scams and report them.

Securing your organization’s private data is a combination of using the right tools and knowing how to use them correctly. Make sure to invest in a financial solution that will work for you, but invest some time into keeping your members informed of the latest cyber security trends, too.

Enjoying this?

I've got some bonus content for you. Get access to more motivational and practical stuff, and receive weekly updates.